10 QS WITH ADRIAN & NATALYA WALKER, THE FOUNDERS OF BOATAFFAIR
1.) Good morning Adrian and Natalya, welcome to The Mayfair Musings! How did Boataffair begin?
Victoria thank you very much for having us. Boataffair is a boutique yacht experience company we established in Switzerland in 2017. We offer bespoke yacht holidays in 60+ countries. After meeting at Imperial College London during our MBA, we found a shared passion for boats and authentic experiences. A few years after the MBA we spent a day on our yacht in the South of France and we both discussed how beautiful, enriching and fun experiences on the water are and how wonderful it will be for more people to enjoy them.
Having looked deeper into it, we realised that current luxury boat rental solutions do not satisfy affluent clientele: unreliable vessel and crew quality, poor UI & software, minimal transparency and flexibility, geographic fragmentation. Competing platforms offer services that are unreliable and low-quality at best with a luxury price tag at worst.
We saw the clear niche and established Boataffair with a focus on quality yacht experiences by hand picking only professionally managed yachts and strictly vetting all our inventory. Quality vs quantity became a unique USP for Boataffair. Competing platforms all go for the quantity of boats - we went after the quality of yachts and, crucially, the quality of the overall experience.
2.) What did you both do before Boataffair?
Adrian: I have worked in Finance for a number of years, where in my role as an auditor and an international consultant I worked on every continent. I always enjoyed travel and the authentic experiences it brings. After completing my MBA I worked in a VC fund in Switzerland and got a chance to meet and screen many start-ups and their founders. I caught the entrepreneurial bug even further.
Natalya: I spent many years working in London in a large corporate, where I worked as a director of finance events. Wanting a change, I chose to do an MBA which focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. I did a brief stint at a VC fund afterwards, which I left when a former colleague presented me with an opportunity to join his start up as a co-founder. This has become my foray into my entrepreneurial journey, which I truly enjoyed. I exited the startup to focus on Boataffair in full in late 2016.
3.) Tell us about your boat rental / yacht experience offerings...
We offer bespoke and carefully curated yacht holidays and experiences in over 60+ countries. Our hand-picked and vetted selection of luxury Catamarans, Motor yachts and Superyachts - all maintained to the highest standard - is fully equipped with everything you need for a perfect getaway in luxury and style. Professional, experienced and discreet crews are there to ensure all of the clients’ wishes and needs are taken care of.
We approach the selection and the quality of our yachts, the crews and the overall client experience with greatest care – from finding the perfect chef to compliment your tastes to ensuring kids will have the right water sports and instructors on board to maximise their fun and learning. Nothing is impossible – from weddings on the water to free diving to discover Shipwrecks, watching the midnight sun in Norway aboard a private yacht to snorkelling in the beautiful Maldives. Day trips to celebrate special occasion or get your friends together for a delicious dinner are more popular than ever too – just recently we had guests for a gourmet dining cruise in Miami, as they wanted to have fun but still remain socially distanced. It’s exactly our attention to quality and experience focus that was picked up by Forbes last year.
4.) In light of the current travel restrictions, do you have any advice for those looking to escape to somewhere beautiful this winter?
There are a number of destinations open where you can enjoy some sun and fun this winter. French Polynesia, Caribbean, Maldives and Seychelles are just some possibilities. Of course, this depends further on where you are a resident and where you are travelling from, as you may have additional restrictions placed once you get back. This is something you wish to avoid of course.
Our team monitors closely all the changes in travel restrictions and international entry and quarantine requirements, so we can always advise clients accordingly based on their country of residence (or where they will be travelling from) and what options are open and most convenient for them. We help dissect all of the ever changing rules for our clients and ultimately curate their experience. Therefore, if you are looking to go away this winter, do speak to your travel agent or a travel expert in our team, even if you are a fan of booking everything yourself normally. Travel experts will be able to guide you and take a lot of potential stress out of it.
5.) What are some of the things a yacht experience offers that a conventional sun / sea / sand holiday does not?
A holiday or time spent aboard your private chartered yacht is like being in your very own private floating villa. You are away from tourist crowds (especially important at the moment!) and you get to see and enjoy a lot more than you would during a traditional on land stay.
For example, if you go island hopping in French Polynesia this winter, you will not just see Bora Bora, you will get to visit Ratatea, Taha and explore deserted beaches and hidden gems of places you won’t find otherwise. You can do this without the hassle of packing your bags over and over again and getting transfers from island to island. You simply relax and enjoy on your yacht, sunbathing and enjoying the breath-taking views all around you. We always carefully curate each experience to ensure it is bespoke, for the respective client. Therefore, we will ensure that you have a range of activities to suit you - water sports and water toys for all tastes and activity levels, a gourmet chef creating an ultimate culinary delight on board, hikes, sightseeing and exploring the different islands and all the local beauty they have to offer.
6.) What has been a highlight within your business so far?
Adrian: I have to say there has been quite a few – it is such an exciting journey! One example that springs to mind is when very early on we welcomed our first NHL player on one of our luxury yachts in Croatia for a holiday. He was really happy with the service and this resulted in us winning one first high profile exclusive partnership with a concierge service who manages all of the US NHL players’ travels.
Natalya: Agree, many memorable moments. I would probably choose the Kuoni partnership we signed amidst the pandemic in July this year. We were very proud to be recognised by one of the longest established luxury travel brands.
7.) What special measures / guidelines do you have in place to ensure the wellbeing of your guests / staff amidst the Covid-19 pandemic?
First and foremost, we always paid great attention to how yachts we offer are cleaned and maintained. Therefore, the already strict cleaning standards have been strengthened even further, with the yachts being meticulously cleaned and sanitised after and during every charter. Crews have been trained in the extended hygiene procedures and of course tested regularly. Crew now have additional protocols on how to spot any symptoms in guests and what the course of action is if anyone on board displays symptoms.
8.) Where is Boataffair based and how can people get in touch with you?
We are headquartered in Switzerland, 20 minutes out of Zurich. We have team members across all continents and can normally cater to our clients 24 hours a day. The best way to get in touch is to drop us a quick email on welcome@boataffair.com or give us a call on +41 78 612 29 19. Our Boataffair expert customer experience team speaks 8 languages natively, so we can speak to clients in their preferred language to ensure an even smoother experience.
9.) What do you love most about working together to build your business?
Adrian: Building a business has its ups and downs, so it means mainly to be able to fully understand each other. Sharing happy moments and wins but also when you need to solve challenges - you know your partner fully understands you and you can share this together.
Natalya: Absolutely agree with this. Additionally, I love that our complementarity of skills enables us to create some truly beautiful new features, products or marketing campaigns. It’s really fun to see how both our ideas come together to create something really beautiful.
10.) When you are not busy working, where can you be found and what will you be doing?
This is a good question, particularly because sometimes it does feel like we are almost always working. Our two lovely boys, an 8 year old and 15 month old, always keep us on our toes in our spare time. We do love to travel together and very often head to the South of France, where we take the boat out or just go swimming. We are a very outdoorsy family, go skiing in the Swiss Alps and we love to go on hikes and spend a lot of time in nature. Being on one of our outdoor adventures just the four of us, that is where we truly recharge our batteries.
To find out more, please visit boataffair.com or email welcome@boataffair.com
